On 07/20/2012 11:09 AM, Jim Brown wrote:
> I understand why Paul does what he does. If your Beverages run through
> rough terrain, as mine do, it can be a real challenge to walk the
> Beverage to check and repair it. And as I get older it gets tougher. :)
Mine run through very rough, uneven, steep, overgrown terrain with
plenty of swampy muck in places. I can diagnose most end
disconnections from the shack by looking to see which directions are
not working. Of course I still have to venture out with saw to
remove whatever has fallen on the Beverage before I can pull it back
up. But with self-disconnects at the ends, at least I don't have to
wander around with a bunch of tools for splicing wire.
Even so, if I had single wire Beverages I would probably just let
them break and splice as necessary.
However, single wire Beverages are out. The only way I can have
Beverages in more than a couple of directions (south, southwest, and
west) is to make them reversible. All feeds have to be on the end
that is on high ground so that leaves two-wire Beverages with a
reflection transformer at the far end.
That established, I analyzed the possibilities. Two separate wires
side by side would be a lot of work to put up and maintain since I
cannot dig holes for posts and must use existing trees/bushes for
support.
I settled on WD1A wire for ease of installation. BUT the stuff is a
nightmare when it breaks! It is never a clean break, but rather a
badly frayed section at least several inches long. Over time the
Beverages quickly shorten from cutting out the bad section and
splicing, requiring re-adjustment of the end points and/or splicing
a new section in. Splicing the stuff is not fun with the steel
strands, and splices must be COMPLETELY waterproofed or else the
steel strands rust through and the wire becomes too weak. Not to
mention the tinned copper strands seem to get "eaten" by the rust.
it didn't take many experiences splicing this stuff to realize I
needed to come up with Plan B!
I will admit I haven't tried "window line". I should be able to
install it with a level of aggravation somewhere between two
separate wires and the WD1A I now have. But I imagine that stuff
isn't the most fun to splice when it breaks either?
It's amazing these Beverages work as well as they seem to,
considering the terrain and compromises.
73,
Paul N1BUG
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UR RST IS ... ... ..9 QSB QSB - hw? BK
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